The Kauflin's are headed home tomorrow!!

Check out Tali's blog to see the latest update on little Jack - AMAZED that it was just 1 week ago they were given this diagnosis and now they are headed home ... God is great and greatly to be praised! Thanks friends for praying and inquiring.

http://www.kauflinfam.blogspot.com/

Urgent - Please Pray for our Friends

Yesterday we got the news that our classmates here at the PC, Jordan & Tali Kauflin, found out that their 2 year old son Jack was diagnosed with Leukemia. Today they were informed that the type of Leukemia it is is Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL), which was actually good news because the doctors said that this is the easiest type to treat and has a 90% cure rate. It is cancer nonetheless and little Jack will begin chemo tomorrow.

The Kauflin's have a blog if you'd like to follow it for updates. I will do my best to update our blog as well . http://www.kauflinfam.blogspot.com/

This is another family that has become very to dear to us over these past months here in MD and even just witnessing their faith and hope in the Lord over these past several days has been awe inspiring and could only come from God and His abundant grace! We are privileged to be a part of their lives this year and are believing that through all of this God will be glorified. Thank you for your care and prayers as well.

So thankful for the hope that we have in Christ Jesus! That our lives do not lie in the hands of men, but in the hands and everlasting arms of THE living God, Creator and Sustainer of the Universe!

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble" Psalm46:1

Random pic's for good measure ...

Calvin - 3 and a half mos

Oh little Calvin - AKA Cal/Bigs/Chickie Boy/Chancho ... this guy has a big cry and a big will already, but even more, he has big blue eyes and a big smile that melts my heart every time I see them! Here are some recent pics of him at 14 weeks...

"Janu-Hairy for Gary"

In honor of our PC Pastor Gary Ricucci, the guys had "Janu-Hairy" for Gary. For the month of January, they all grew out their facial hair and at the end of the month shaved their faces and to the best of their ability sported rockin' mustaches like Gary - though one student who will remain nameless had no ability at all to grow a mustache, therefore ordered a fake one online, lol! They had a whole little ceremony type thing in class, they shared evidences of grace with Gary as well as Betsy his wife and had a couple other pretty funny things they did. These guys are a hoot, seriously has been a lot of fun watching Nate grow in relationship with them all. Oh, and don't worry, that scary mustache is gone now!

He Gives & He Takes Away

If you follow our blog, you may have heard us mention the Dufrin family or Sandy or Moriah. They have become very dear friends of ours since we have moved here to Maryland. Phil and Sandy live directly across the street from us and have 6 children. They came from Michigan where Phil left behind a very successful career as well as their family farm to pursue Pastor's College. We have learned so much just by witnessing their lives, the way they care for and parent their children, the way they love each other and the way they have cared for others, including our family (Moriah, their oldest daughter, serves us by watching the kids on Saturday nights for date nights and Sandy had even been keeping Calvin for us so we could be totally child free those evenings!).

This coming Monday, Feb 8th, will mark 6 years since their little daughter Hannah went to be with Jesus. I wanted to plug the book that Sandy wrote in regards to this because I have been deeply affected by it. Theirs is a powerful testimony and account of God's sovereignty in the midst of suffering and how God's grace abounds to those grieving the loss of a child. What a gift this family is to us, and what a gift and means of grace this book has been to even people who haven't lost a child. Dufrin's, you guys amaze us and make us glorify God!

You can get the book on Amazon, here's the link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/142089224X?tag=openlibr-20

Meeting with the Mahaney Gals

We have had some pretty amazing opportunities while we have been here in MD. One of the highlights of the year has been that the 1st Thursday of every month we get to meet with CJ & Carolyn Mahaney. We rotate, some weeks the class meets with them as couples, other weeks the men meet with CJ and the women meet with Carolyn. What a joy it has been to glean from their wisdom and to learn from their humble example and love for the Savior and one another. This past month though, we were blessed with the chance to sit down with their 3 daughters, Nicole, Kristin and Janelle, and have a Q&A time on everything from mothering/parenting, to being the wife of a Pastor, to what things they felt their mother and father did that had the greatest impact on their lives. If you haven't checked out their blog you should, it is a wonderful resource for women - http://www.girltalkhome.com/